Greenhouse Harvester of Cannabis

ABSTRACT

A harvester for bedded plants having a driving mechanism having two sets of wheels or tracks positioned on opposing sides of a plant bed. An adjustable “U” shaped frame allows the legs connected to the wheels/tracks to be elongated or shortened with the cross member also being elongated to meet the demands of the particular plant bed. Secured to the cross member is a harvest mechanism which grips and cuts the plants stock, removes the flowers and or leaves, and then deposits the harvested material into a receiving bin.

PRIORITY

This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/998,117, filed on Jul. 3, 2018, entitled “A Greenhouse Harvester ofCannabis”, which was a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/932,722 filed on Apr. 12, 2018 and entitled “A Harvester forCannabis”.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a mechanism to harvest cannabis in fieldsetting.

While traditionally, cannabis has been grown and harvested by hand, withlegal advancements within the United States, the demand for cannabis isquickly outstripping the ability for hand tended cannabis to keep pace.The reason that hand-tending is the standard, is that cannabis, unlikealmost any other plant, requires a heightened regard for the harvesting.For the cannabis plant, very little of the plant is not useful for onepurpose or the other.

Traditional mechanized methods for agricultural growth of cannabisquickly run into problems with the harvesting process as the existingmechanisms cannot be used efficiently. They are both clumsy and fail toaddress the special needs that cannabis requires.

It is clear that there is a need to mechanically harvest field growncannabis.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a mechanism which permits the mechanizedharvesting of cannabis plant parts from an agricultural field. Themechanism is ideally self-propelled although other embodiments areeither drawn or pushed through the agricultural field.

In this regard, the invention uses the mobility commonly found incombine harvesters. Those of ordinary skill in the art readily recognizea variety of structures which are applicable here, including, but notlimited to those described in: U.S. Pat. No. 9,763,391, entitled“Combine Harvester with Top-Located Cleaning Arrangement” issued toMissotten et al. on Sep. 19, 2017; U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,201, entitled“Combine with Moveable Body and Tandem Drive Wheels” issued to Tesker onMach 1, 1994; and U.S. Pat. No. 9,756,787, entitled “Combine Harvester”issued to Heitmann et al. on Sep. 12, 2017; both of which areincorporated hereinto by reference.

The mechanism contains a gripping mechanism which secures the stem ofthe cannabis plant as the mechanism moves through the field. Gripping isideally done using rubber “fingers” located on a pair of wheels whichrotate the stem into the fingers while the stem is being cut from theroot. Ideally the stem is cut approximately three inches from thesoil/root.

In another embodiment, the cutting of the stem is done after the roothas been removed from the soil allowing the root to be harvested. Theremoval of the root from the soil is ideally done by pulling the stemupwards to dislodge the root from the soil. A variation of the inventionprovides for the root removal using a subterranean wedge travelingthrough the soil to dislodge the root from the soil.

In either embodiment, once the stem has been cut, the flowers on thestem are removed and placed in a designated bin for collection of theflowers. Cannabis flowers are one of the most valuable parts of thecannabis plant.

In the preferred embodiment, once the stem has been gripped and cut, theplant is inverted so that the flower is the lowest part. Sensors,typically lights, identify where the flower/stem connection exists andthen again cuts the stem, allowing the flower to fall into a collectingbin. The now flowerless stem/leaves then proceed to where the leaves areremoved.

Those of ordinary skill in the art readily recognize a variety ofmechanisms which will remove the flower including that described in U.S.Pat. No. 6,237,475, entitled “Machine for Peeling Pears, Removing theirCore, and cutting them into Segments” issued to Ascari, et al. on May29, 2001, incorporated hereinto by reference.

The now flowerless and rootless stem then has the leaves removed forcollection in another bin. The leaves from the cannabis plant are highlyprized and provide another economic benefit to the grower. Ideally, theremoval of the leaves is accomplished through a variety of mechanismssuch as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 8,753,180, “Methods and Apparatusfor Stripping Leaves from a Stalk Cured Tobacco Plant”, issued Jun. 17,2014, to Hutchins, incorporated herein by reference.

Those of ordinary skill in the art, readily recognize a variety oftechniques which may be used to remove leaves from the stem, including,but not limited to those described in: U.S. Pat. No. 9,807,937, entitled“Agricultural Harvester with Improved Rotor Transition Geometry” issuedto Flickinger et al. on Nov. 7, 2017; U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,623, entitled“Apparatus and Method for Harvesting Agricultural Produce” issued toHerren on Apr. 14, 1992; and, U.S. Pat. No. 9,854,742, entitled “CropProcessing Apparatus in a Combine Harvester” issued to Bilde on Jan. 2,2018; all of which are incorporated hereinto by reference.

At this point, the stems are “naked”, without roots, flowers, or leaves.The naked stems are then baled and either placed into their owndesignated bin or, preferably are deposited back into the agriculturalfield. The stems also provide an economic advantage and are used for avariety of products including hemp.

Baling of the bundles is well known in the art and includes suchtechniques as described in: U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,348, entitled “Machinefor Forming Cylindrical Bales of Crop” issued to Frerich et al. on Mar.21, 1989; and, U.S. Pat. No. 8,434,289, entitled “Sensor for Detectionof Wrapping on Bale” issued to Smith et al. on May 7, 2013; both ofwhich are incorporated hereinto by reference.

In the preferred embodiment, each bale is weighed and a label having itsweight is attached to the bale. The weight is also added to a runningtotal so that production of the stems is monitored.

In like fashion, another embodiment of the invention weights each of thedifferent bins (roots, flowers, and leaves) in a running fashion toassure that the crop is not tampered with by the operator or others.This running tally is also useful for reporting to government entitieswho are monitoring the production of cannabis.

Those of ordinary skill in the art readily recognize a variety ofmechanisms which may be utilized to weight the bales of stems as well asthe bins, including, but not limited to: U.S. Pat. No. 8,857,745,entitled “Agricultural Spreader Control” issued to Aral on Oct. 14,2014; U.S. Pat. No. 9,347,818, entitled “Automated Collection and ScaleSystem” issued to Curotto on May 24, 2016; and, U.S. Pat. No. 9,694,973,entitled “Electrical Powered Weight and Fullness Level System” issued toUllrich et al. on Jul. 4, 2017; all of which are incorporated hereintoby reference.

Another embodiment of the invention is adapted for a plant bed or box toallow automated harvesting of the crop. In this embodiment, a harvesterfor the bedded plants has a driving mechanism having two sets of wheelsor tracks positioned on opposing sides of a plant bed. An adjustable “U”shaped frame allows the legs connected to the wheels/tracks to beelongated or shortened. The cross member is also selectively elongatedto meet the demands of the particular plant bed dimensions. Secured tothe cross member is a harvest mechanism which grips and cuts the plantsstock, removes the flowers and or leaves, and deposits the harvestedmaterial into a receiving bin.

The harvester is positioned and adjusted to meet the actual bed with thewheels on the outside of the plant bed. The harvesting mechanism(s)is/are aligned with the rows of crop (cannabis in the preferredapplication) and an operator using a handheld control, directs theharvester down the plant bed harvesting the crop.

Handheld controls are well known in the art and include a variety ofmechanisms, such as, but not limited to: U.S. Pat. No. 9,932,058,entitled “Scaffolding Transport Cart” issued to Holloway, et al. on Apr.3, 2018; U.S. Pat. No. 9,939,811, issued to Fitzpatrick on Apr. 10,2018; U.S. Pat. No. 9,969,478, issued to Mazin on May 15, 2018; andUnited States patent publication number 20180134206, entitled “RemoteControlled Cart” by Grivettie et al.; all of which are incorporatedhereinto by reference.

As the frame/tractor passes over the bed, the harvesting mechanismprocesses the plants in the plant bed. The stems are cut as outlinedabove, the flowers are removed from the stem. The removed flowers areplaced into a bin for retrieval. In the preferred embodiment, the flowerbin is located outside the plant bed and is periodically emptied using abottom drop door.

In a like manner, the harvesting mechanism, in some embodiments, has amechanism to remove the leaves from the stem which are then depositedinto a leaf bin. The leaf bin is ideally located outside the plant bedand has a bottom drop door for removal of the harvested leaves.

In one embodiment, the harvesting mechanism is detachable from the crossmember or tool bar. This permits the harvesting mechanisms to havepreventive-maintenance performed and for repairs to be made. Further,this also allows multiple harvesting mechanism to be placed onto thecross member or tool bar to address multiple rows of plants within theplant bed.

In some embodiments, the denuded stem is bundled and deposited onto theplant bed for later removal.

The invention, together with various embodiments thereof, will be morefully explained by the accompanying drawings and the followingdescriptions thereof.

DRAWINGS IN BRIEF

FIGS. 1A and 1B graphically illustrate the preferred embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 2 illustrates the portable nature of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of the informational flow on the weights for thebins during operation of the mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the preferred embodiment highlighting thefunctional components of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the preferred embodiments illustrating themechanical structure of the preferred embodiment.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate two alternative bins permitting easydischarge of the collected materials (flowers or leaves).

FIG. 7 illustrates a cross member or tool bar that may be elongated.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate the preferred mechanism for the removal ofthe flower and the leaves from the stem.

DRAWINGS IN DETAIL

FIGS. 1A and 1B graphically illustrate the preferred embodiment of theinvention.

Cannabis plant 10A is grown in an agricultural field. Ideally the plantsare arranged as row crops to facilitate mechanized harvesting.

Cannabis plant 10A passes 15A into the removal mechanism 11 whichremoves, in this embodiment, the entire cannabis plant 10B including theroots from the soil.

The cannabis plant 10B is introduced 15B to the cutting mechanism 11Bwhich cuts the stem of the cannabis plant 10B to remove roots 14A whichare delivered, 15D, to root bin 12A. Ideally the cutting of the stem isapproximately three inches above the soil line. In some embodiments,this step is not performed until the end of the process.

In some embodiments of the invention, the root is not harvested. Inthese embodiments the cutting is done within the field without removingthe roots from the soil.

A running tally of the weight within root bin 12A is computed andcommunicated 13A to a remote computer (described in FIG. 3).

Cannabis plant 10C, now devoid of its root, is passed 15C to thedeflowering mechanism 11C which removes flowers 14B and deposits theflowers into flower bin 12B. Communication apparatus 13B communicatesthe weight of the flowers within flower bin 12B to the remote computer.

Cannabis plant 10D (now without its root and the flowers) passes 15F andenters 15G the de-leafing mechanism 11D which removes the leaves 14Cfrom the stem. These leaves 14C are deposited 15I into leaf bin 12C. Theweight within leaf bin 12C is communicated to the remote computer 13C.

Cannabis plant 10E, now only a stem, is moved 15H into the bailingmechanism 11E which gathers multiple stems into bundles or bales 10F.

In one embodiment, bundle 14D is deposited 15K into stem bin 12D and therunning weight of the bundles is communicated 13D to the remotecomputer.

In the preferred embodiment, bundle 10B passes 15J into a weight/markingmechanism 11F which weighs the individual bundle and marks the bundlewith this weight. The weight is communicated to the remote computer.This weighed and marked bundle 14E is then deposited back onto theagricultural field for later removal.

Ideally the various mechanisms described in FIGS. 1A and 1B arecontained, together with the transporting mechanisms, within a singleunit allowing a cannabis plant obtained from an agricultural field toyield separated and collected roots, flowers, leaves, and stems.

FIG. 2 illustrates the portable nature of the invention.

In the preferred embodiment, the operation of FIGS. 1A and 1B arecontained within housing 20 mounted onto harvester 21 which isself-propelled and travels ver the agricultural field collecting thecannabis plants 10A. Within housing 20, the cannabis plant isselectively processed to yield the roots, flowers, and leaves in binswhile the bundled stems 14E are left on the agricultural field.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of the informational flow on the weights for thebins during operation of the mechanism.

To monitor the yield from the cannabis crop, computer 30 collects theweights from the various bins: root bin 13A, flower bin 13B, leaf bin13C, and stem bin 13D (if one is being used). This data is stored inmemory 32 and displayed onto screen 31.

This running tally of the crop yield is important not only for thefarmer but also is useful for governmental entities who are tasked withmonitoring the yield.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the preferred embodiment of the plant andharvester highlighting the functional components of the invention.

The mechanism of this embodiment is shown to be harvesting from plantbed 41 which has walls 40A and 40B containing two rows of plants 42A and428. While this illustration shows two rows of crops, the invention isnot so limited and as will be shown, is able to address any number ofrows.

The harvesting mechanism of this embodiment uses two cross members/toolbars 7A and 7B which support the harvesting machinery. The rest of theframe is not shown in this illustration but is further defined in FIG.5.

The entire mechanism is supported by wheels 44A, 44B, 44C, and 44D whichare used to move the mechanism along plant bed 41. Motors 45A and 45Bdrive wheels 44A and 44B respectively and are controlled by remotecontrol 4 held by the operator.

As the mechanism traverses along plant bed 41, cutters 46A and 16Bengage plants 44A and 44B in this illustration. Cutters 44A and 44B cutthe stem of the plants which are then passed along to de-floweringmechanism 47A and 47B. De-flowering mechanisms 47A and 47B remove theflowers from the cut stems and transport the flowers to flower bins 48Aand 48B via conduits 49A and 49B.

In this embodiment, flower bins 48A and 48B are supported on the sidesof the mechanism to facilitate the collection and transport from thegrowing area.

The deflowered stems are communicated via conduits 9A and 9B to thede-leafing mechanisms 8A and 8B which remove the leaves from the stems.The removed leaves are communicated to leaf bins 5A and 5B via conduits6A and 6B. The now naked stems are either dropped onto the plant bed 41or are baled into bunches before being deposited onto the plant bed 41.

In this manner, the plants from a plant bed are mechanically harvested,thereby reducing the man-power associated with the traditionalharvesting of a plant bed.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the preferred embodiments illustrating themechanical structure of the preferred embodiment.

The harvesting mechanism is support by a frame constituting a tophorizontal member 50A and a lower horizontal member 50B. The opposingside is not visible but is a replica of this structure.

The top horizontal member 50A, and its counterpart on the left side,support the cross members/tool bars 7A and 7B which are used to supportthe harvesting mechanisms. The lower horizontal member 50B, with itscounterpart on the other side, support the flower bin 48B and the leafbin 5B.

Legs 51A and 51B engage wheels 44B and 44D and provide support for theframe itself. In this embodiment, legs 51A and 51B include knuckles 52Aand 52B which, when loosened, allows legs 51A to be elongated, asindicated by arrows 53A and 53B, so that the frame has the proper heightto address plant 43B which depends on the height of wall 40B.

In this way, the frame is adjusted to address the particular plant bedand crop.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate two alternative bins permitting easydischarge of the collected materials (flowers or leaves).

Referring to FIG. 6A, bin 60A may be used for the collection of theflowers or the leaves in the embodiment above. The leaves or flowers aredeposited into bin 60A via conduit 61. Door 62 is latched shut via latch66. During the discharge of the contents, latch 66 is released allowingdoor 62 to swing open as indicated by arrow 64.

The contents are collected into a wheeled wagon or the like fortransport into the sorting room.

FIG. 6B is an alternative embodiment for the bin. Again bin 60B isloaded via conduit 61B with either flowers or leaves while slide 63 isinserted into bin 60B. For discharge, slide 63 is removed from thebottom of bin 60B allowing the contents to drop into the transportwagon, not shown.

FIG. 7 illustrates a cross member or tool bar that may be elongated.Rod/bar 71 is configured to be accepted inside rod/bar 71 as illustratedby arrow 74 A knuckle 73 is secured to the end of rod/bar 72 and oncerod/bar 71 is inserted to the proper depth (thereby defining theelongated length of the combined bar/rod 71 and 72), knuckle 73 isrotated as indicated by arrow 75 to tighten and affix the two bar/rods71 and 72 to each other.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate the preferred mechanism for the removal ofthe flower and the leaves from the stem.

Referring to FIG. 8A, where the flower is removed, the plant 80A isgripped by gripper 81 and cut from the base using shears 84A. Gripper 81then inverts 83A the plant, 80B, so that the flower hangs downward.

As the flower passes by light sensors 82, the location of the connectionbetween the flower and stem is identified. Operation of the lightsensors identified the bulbous portion of the flower as the plant 80Bmoves in the direction 83B. The light sensor 82 then identifies which isthe last light sensor to be “tripped” by the stem to locate thepositioning 83D of shears 84B which severs the flower from the stem,allowing the flower to fall as indicated by arrow 83E to be collected ina bin.

The stem and leaves proceed to the de-leafing process shown in FIG. 8B.

Stem and leaves 80C is pulled along by track 86 which diverges fromshears 87. This divergence, as the track moves in the directionindicated by arrow 83B, causes the stem/leaves to be raised against theshears 87 causing leaves 85 to be cut from the stem and to fall intobins. Eventually, the now denuded stem is dropped into a waste bin.

In this manner, FIGS. 8A and 8B, the plant is automatically harvestedand then the useful products are removed.

It is clear that the present invention provides for a highly efficientmechanism to harvest field grown cannabis.

What is claimed is:
 1. A harvester for bedded plants comprising: a) adriving mechanism having two sets of motion mechanisms adapted to engagea flooring, each set of motion mechanisms positioned on opposing sidesof a plant bed; b) a support mechanism being generally “U” shaped havingat least two legs and a cross member, a first end of each leg of thesupport mechanism secured to one of the motion mechanisms with each endof the cross member of the support mechanism secured to a second end ofthe at least two legs and extending over and parallel to the plant bed;c) a motor driving said motion mechanisms causing the support mechanismto travel along the flooring; and, d) a primary harvest mechanismsecured to the cross member and having, 1) a gripping mechanism adaptedto secure the stems of plants in the plant bed, 2) a cutting mechanismadapted to cut the stems of the plant below a point of contact betweenthe gripping mechanism and a base of the plant, 3) a de-floweringmechanism adapted to separate flowers on the cut plant from the stem;and, 4) a de-leafing mechanism adapted to remove leaves from the stem.2. The harvester according to claim 1, further including a handheldcontrol adapted to receive operator input for control of the drivingmechanism.
 3. The harvester according to claim 2, further including aflower bin adapted to receive removed flowers from the de-floweringmechanism.
 4. The harvester according to claim 3, wherein the flower binis secured to the support mechanism exterior to the plant bed.
 5. Theharvester according to claim 4, wherein the flower bin includes a dumpdoor positioned at the bottom of the flower bin.
 6. The harvesteraccording to claim 3, wherein each of the at least two legs are adaptedto be elongated.
 7. The harvester according to claim 3, wherein thecross member is adapted to be elongated.
 8. The harvester according toclaim 7, wherein the harvesting mechanism is detachable from the crossmember.
 9. The harvester according to claim 8, further including atleast one secondary harvest mechanism attachable to the cross member andoperating in parallel to the primary harvest mechanism.
 10. Theharvester according to claim 7, further including a leaf bin adapted toreceive leaves from the de-leafing mechanism.
 11. The harvesteraccording to claim 11, wherein the leaf bin is secured to the supportmechanism exterior to the plant bed.
 12. 13. The harvester according toclaim 12, wherein the leaf bin includes a dump door positioned at thebottom of the flower bin.
 14. The harvester according to claim 11,further including, after the de-leafing mechanism, a baling mechanismreceiving the stems and adapted to package the stems into bundles anddeposit onto the plant bed.
 15. A harvester for plants in a plant bedarranged in rows comprising: a) a tractor mechanism having, 1) a drivingmechanism having two sets of motion mechanisms adapted to engage aflooring, 2) at least two legs, a first end of each leg secured to oneof the motion mechanisms, 3) a tool bar secured to a second end of theat least two legs and extending the plant bed, and, 4) a motor drivingsaid motion mechanisms causing the support mechanism to travel over theflooring; and, b) at least two harvest mechanisms, each of said harvestmechanisms securable to the tool bar in alignment with a row of beddedplants, each harvest mechanisms having, 1) a gripping mechanism adaptedto secure stems of plants in the plant bed, 2) a cutting mechanismadapted to cut the stems of the plant below a point of contact betweenthe gripping mechanism and a base of the plant, and, 5) a de-floweringmechanism adapted to separate flowers on the cut plant from the stem;and, 3) a de-leafing mechanism adapted to remove leaves from the stem.16. The harvester according to claim 15, further including a flower binadapted to receive removed flowers from the de-flowering mechanism, saidflower bin secured to the tractor mechanism exterior to the plant bed.17. The harvester according to claim 16, wherein the leaf bin is securedto the tractor exterior to the plant bed
 18. A harvest mechanism adaptedto be moved through a row of plants in a bed, said harvest mechanismcomprising: a) a gripping mechanism adapted to secure stems of plants inthe plant bed; b) a cutting mechanism adapted to cut the stems of theplant below a point of contact between the gripping mechanism and a baseof the plant; c) a de-flowering mechanism adapted to separate flowers onthe cut stem from the stem; and, d) a flower bin adapted to receiveremoved flowers, e) a de-leafing mechanism adapted to remove leaves fromthe stem, and, f) a leaf bin adapted to receive removed leaves.